Loser
by Ionia Metallium-Greywers
Summary: Heero goes out to get ice cream, but doesn't come back. Duo goes in search of him, and finds...*laughs* I'll make you read to find out! (((_^ The first chapter of...I dunno...a few, I guess. R & R!!!


Loser  
By: Ionia Metallium-Greywers(IoniaSandstromFF@aol.com)  
  
Disclaimer:   
  
Ionia: I don't own anything about Gundam Wing. Hey, what kinda person do you guys take me for? I don't own half the world like Quatre does! *points at an SD Quatre huggling a globe*  
  
Quatre: What? *looks around sheepishly*  
  
Ionia: u_u;; ANYway...on with the fic! (((_^  
  
I sat on the cot in my double dorm. Where was Heero? Heero had gone out to get me and him some ice cream. I had insisted that I go with him, but Heero ignored me and went by himself anyway. He had said that I would talk too much.  
  
The nearest ice cream shop was just a few blocks away! The longest Heero should have been gone was a half hour, but it had already been 2 hours since he had left. Not only was I getting mad, I was also getting hungry and getting worried about him.  
  
I stood up and grabbed my jacket. I walked to the door and turned off the lights, then stepped into the hallway. I knocked on the door across the hall, which was Quatre's single dorm. Trowa and Wu Fei were out in space at the moment, on missions of their own.  
  
The door opened, and a sleepy-eyed Quatre poked his head out. "Oh, hello, Duo."  
  
"Hi, Quatre. You look tired. Did I wake you up?"  
  
"Nah. I was just playing Mario Party 3, by myself." He sighed. "You want to play?"  
  
"As much as I'd like to, I can't. Heero hasn't come back yet."  
  
"But isn't the closest ice cream shop just a few blocks away?"  
  
"Yeah. That's what I told myself. He's been gone almost 4 times longer than it should have taken." I sighed, then turned. "Well, I'm going to look for him. If I don't come back, tell the headmaster that Heero and I are missing."  
  
"I will." Quatre didn't catch the little hint of sarcasm in my voice. Oh well. I turned and I walked towards the stairs. A call of "Be careful, Duo!" trailed behind me.  
  
*****  
  
Stepping out of the door was like stepping out of a refrigerator into an oven. It was ridiculously humid outside, and almost instantly my bangs stuck to my forehead. I looked up into the dark night sky, and promises of a storm made their presence known. Stars disappeared quickly as dark clouds tumbled over them. "Shit..." I muttered.  
  
"Heero, you bastard! Where are you?!" I called as I ran down the sidewalk. The dark--and unusually deserted--street was illuminated by a flash of lightning behind me. "Dammit! Heero, where are you?!"  
  
A sheet of rain came stampeding past me, and suddenly, I was soaked completely through. I hopped into a side alley, which had an overhang above it. I leaned against a wall and breathed heavily. Once I had caught my breath, I took that chance to look around in the alley, to see if Heero was taking refuge from the storm here too. But I saw absolutely nothing but trash cans and shadows.  
  
Something moved in the corner of my eye. I looked, and a rat came scurrying away from a trash can. Then, the coppery smell of blood hit me full force. It was nearly enough to make me nauseous. But what was blood doing in an alley? In a really bad horror movie, maybe, but not here and now.  
  
I peered behind the trash can. I knew what was back there before I could even see anything back there. I heard a groan. A very -familiar- groan. "H...Heero...?"  
  
A flash of lightning lit up the sky, lighting the area behind the trash can. "Oh, God! It is you, Heero!" Another flash came soon after, showing me that Heero was injured, and very badly too. "God, Heero. What happened to you?" I whispered. I picked up Heero, who groaned again. I carried him in my arms back towards the school.  
  
*****  
  
I stood outside Quatre's door, dripping water on the floor. I couldn't knock, because I was holding Heero. So I yelled. "Quatre! Quatre, hurry up and open the door!"  
  
The door opened quickly. Quatre didn't even ask me when he saw Heero. He ran across the hall and unlocked my dorm. We hurried inside and lied Heero on his bed. Quatre took this chance to ask. "Duo, what happened?"  
  
"I don't know. He was lying in an alley like this. He could have been mugged."  
  
"It's possible," a quiet voice said from the door. We turned, only to see Trowa and Wu Fei standing at the door.  
  
"Trowa!" Quatre exclaimed. But he didn't rush to hug his SO like he normally did. He probably felt obliged to help Heero because of all that Heero had done for him.  
  
When Quatre, Trowa, Wu Fei, and I had gotten him all bandaged up, I sighed. This was when Quatre realized I was dripping wet.  
  
"Duo, you're soaked through!" he said, startled.  
  
"Well, yeah, I /was/ out in the rain..." I retorted. Then I fell forwards, my whole world going black. The last thing I heard was someone calling my name.  
  
*****  
  
My mind woke up before I physically did. The first thing I thought was, Where am I? The second thing, Dammit, I need some coffee. Third, Hey, wasn't Heero...  
  
"...Hee...ro..." I barely pushed out a whisper. My head hurt really bad, and I think I had a warm, damp towel on my forehead. I was lying down, and that was really all I could tell.  
  
"Hey! He said something!" someone said excitedly. The person--Quatre, I think--bent down. "What was that, Duo?"  
  
"...Hee...ro..." I whispered again. I wasn't really in the mood to talk. And that would have to mean I'm sick.  
  
"Duo, Heero's doing fine." That was a lie. I could tell in his voice. "You have a virus, however. Trowa thinks it's the flu."  
  
"Hn," was all I could manage to grunt out. Anything else would have made my head hurt -very- badly. "Hee...ro's...not...ok..." I sputtered out.  
  
I could hear Quatre's face fall. "No Duo! Heero's ok! He's--"  
  
I heard Trowa put his hand on Quatre's shoulder. It's amazing how finely tuned your senses are when you're sick. "Quatre, leave him alone. He's sick."  
  
Silence. "Alright." Someone new bent down to me.   
  
"Would you like me to get you anything, Duo?" Wu Fei. I knew that voice.  
  
"Ice cream...would be nice..." He laughed.  
  
"You don't need ice cream. How about some tea and maybe some rice crackers?"  
  
I nodded slightly. Any kind of food sounded good right now. But then again, it always does.  
  
I heard the door open and shut. Then I heard someone get something out of a tube, or something like it. "Duo, take this." Trowa sat me up, which hurt pretty bad, and put a pill in my mouth. It was followed by some water. I swallowed it, and Trowa lied me back down. I could feel my hair fan out below me. Who had let my hair out of its braid?  
  
"Get some sleep, Duo," Quatre's childish voice said. So I took his advice and fell asleep.  
  
*****  
  
I woke up some time later, I'm not sure exactly when. But all I knew is that there was some kind of struggle going on around the other bed in the room. The other bed was Heero's. Only bits and pieces of the conversation carried into my aching brain.  
  
"...Concussion...condition is worsening...might not make it..." Oh God, had I heard what I thought I had heard? Heero might not make it?!  
  
I tried to sit up. In the process, a moan escaped my lips, and Dr. Quatre turned around. "Duo! What are you doing?! Don't try to sit up!"  
  
I hurt all over. But I didn't care. "Heero..."  
  
Quatre ran to me. "Duo, lie back down." He put his hand behind my head and helped me back into my original position.  
  
"Qua...tre?"  
  
"Yes, Duo?"  
  
"Heero's gonna die, right?"  
  
He frowned. "Of course not! He'll pull through...just fine..." He turned around and went across the hall to his room. I heard the door slam. I guess knowing you're gonna lose a teammate would be hard on anyone.  
  
Trowa came over to me, leaving Wu Fei to tend to Heero. "Duo, I have to talk to you." I didn't say anything, for fear of upsetting my stomach. "Ok. Now, I know how important Heero is to you, but I'm afraid we're gonna lose him. Whoever mugged him did it pretty good to put him on the verge of death like this, and if he wasn't mugged, then whatever happened must have been too much for him."  
  
I nodded slightly. Even that set off another round of pain. I winced. Trowa put another pill into my mouth, which now I assumed was a painkiller. "Trowa...is Quatre gonna...be ok?"  
  
"Yeah. He'll be fine." He looked at a piece of paper. "I've been giving you medicine while you slept. It's to kill the virus in your system. You should be over it in a couple of days."  
  
"That's good." Wait, what's good? I just might be sleeping or something when Heero...ah, forget it. "How long was I out?"  
  
"About 2 days." Yep, that's me all over. Sleep is my hobby. "Why don't you get a little more sleep?"  
  
"Alright." Trowa walked back to Heero and Wu Fei, and I closed my eyes and fell asleep again.  
  
*****  
  
A few days later, I was nearly back to full health. At least my head didn't hurt anymore and I didn't feel sick, but Trowa had told me not to overdo it.  
  
All 4 of us stood around Heero's bed, watching him sleep. I swear, he looks like a baby when he sleeps. It's so...well, cute.  
  
I held his hand. "Please, get better, Heero."  
  
Heero's eyes opened when he heard my voice. "D...Duo..."  
  
"Heero!" I squeaked. "You're alive!" God, I sounded like a little kid. Hey, that's what I act like anyway, right?  
  
"Hn." Typical response. That means he's getting better, right? I turned to Quatre, who was staring at the floor and looked as white as a sheet of paper.  
  
"Hey, Quatre, you ok?" I asked slowly.  
  
Quatre looked at me with a forced smile. "Yeah. Fine." /Whatever./ I thought.  
  
A hand grabbed my wrist, and I turned around. Heero was the one who had grabbed my wrist. If I hadn't had any composure at all, I would have squealed. "Heero...?"  
  
"D...Duo...take care of...yourself..."  
  
I sniffled. "I will."   
  
Trowa spoke up. "Duo, we have to get to our classes now, so would you mind watching Heero while we're gone?"  
  
"Nah." I waved my hands at them in a shooing motion. "Go ahead and go to class."  
  
"Arigato."  
  
"No problem." The three of them walked out the door. I looked to Heero. "So, I guess it's just you and me, buddy."  
  
I noticed a bandage hanging nearly over Heero's eye, so I leaned over to tuck it back into place. When I did, I came face to face with Heero. "Ano, Heero? I'm just gonna put this bandage back in place."  
  
Heero looked at me for a second. I saw his arm move upwards, and he winced. "No, Heero, don't--" I was interrupted by Heero's hand pushing my head down to his face, then rewarded with a brush on the lips.  
  
I stood back, blushing. My mind was running on a constant, happy little circut that kept repeating over and over /HeerokissedmeHeerokissedmeHeerokissedme.../ It was like a million fireworks had gone off at that moment. I felt like I was walking on the clouds...no, wait, that sounds a little too sappy for me. Me? A romantic? Never.   
  
I was brought back to the normal world by a smack to the head. I turned around, rubbing my head. Trowa was standing right behind me. "I forgot some of my books. I left them in here." He nodded towards a pile of books on a chair that earlier I had presumed were Quatre's.   
  
"Oh, ok, then. I thought you were skipping class. That's not like you, Trowa." I grinned. He just looked at me, then turned around and walked out.  
  
I looked back to Heero. "Ano...Heero? What was that for?"  
  
He looked at me like a wolf looks at you before it decides whether you're a threat or food. I got the picture and shut my mouth.  
  
*****  
  
I sat up in bed. "K'so..." I muttered. "I was having such a good dream too." I really was. It was sort of one of those dominatrix dreams where your partner is in handcuffs and you have a whip, only in my dream replace the whip with whipped cream and cherries. I grinned devilishly.  
  
I looked around the dark room, trying to figure out what woke me up. I'm normally a light sleeper. I looked at the clock. Only 2:15 AM? Wow. I hadn't been asleep very long. It was still dark out so daylight couldn't have woke me up.   
  
I got out of bed. Had Heero woke me up? Am I /that/ worried about him? I walked towards the bathroom, when all of a sudden I heard a noise. It wasn't a loud noise, more like a groan. I turned towards Heero and I heard it again. I turned on a light switch, and what I saw would have made me drop whatever I was holding, for the exception that I wasn't holding anything.  
  
Heero was writhing about on his bed, moaning in pain. I tried to yell for Quatre and Trowa, but nothing would come out of my mouth. I backed up to the door and felt around for the knob. Once I felt it under my hand, I turned it as fast as I could and ran aross the hall.   
  
I started beating on the door. "Quatre! Trowa! Wake up! Hurry!" It didn't really take long for them to open the door. Trowa saw over my shoulder and into me and Heero's room. He pushed by me, with Quatre and I in pursuit.   
  
When we got in there, Heero let out a sharp cry of pain. Somehow, I could feel pain inside my body as well. But this wasn't physical pain. It was more like spectral pain. I couldn't help it. I fell to my knees and broke down crying.  
  
Quatre put his arm around my shoulder and helped me up. "It's ok, Duo. You'll be ok." He helped me to my bed while Trowa gave Heero some painkillers. I couldn't stop crying. Quatre just kept repeating the same thing over and over while I watched Heero recieve painkillers from Trowa through blurred vision.  
  
Once Heero had quieted down and went back to sleep, Trowa came over to us. "Are you gonna be ok, Duo?"  
  
"Yeah," I sniffled.   
  
"It seems one of Heero's gashes got severely infected. It will put him through a lot of pain, unless he's given painkillers every other hour."  
  
I didn't say anything.   
  
"Would you like to sleep in our room tonight?"  
  
"No thanks. I'll stay here."  
  
Trowa's usually stoic expression turned soft. "I'll have Quatre stay here tonight. Is that ok with you, Quatre?"  
  
"Yeah. I don't mind." I looked at Quatre. God, he looked like me. Like a lost little kid that doesn't know where his mommy is.  
  
*****  
  
Quatre lie asleep on a floor bed we pulled out of the closet, and Heero lay asleep on his bed. I was the only one who couldn't get to sleep. /Heero./ I thought. /Please get better./ I checked the clock. 4:30. It was time to give Heero another painkiller.  
  
I sighed and climbed out of bed. I walked to the bathroom, where Trowa had stashed all the painkillers. I got a couple out of a small bottle and carried them and a cup of water into the main room.  
  
I bent over Heero's sleeping form. "God, Heero. You're causing us all to worry about you." I shook him lightly on the shoulder. "Hey...Hee-kun..." I whispered.  
  
Heero's eyes fluttered open. "D...Duo...?" I smiled.  
  
"It's time for your painkillers. Now open your mouth." He opened his mouth (I guess the Perfect Soldier doesn't like pain much). I placed the pills in his mouth and helped him sit up. I gave him a drink of water, then eased him back down. "Now, go back to sleep."  
  
"Duo...arigato..." Heero whispered. I smiled.  
  
  
Chapter 2 coming soon! (((_^ 


End file.
